


Lighting Up a Heart

by IceRose34



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Decorations, Christmas Spirit, F/M, Family Fluff, Gen, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Self-Reflection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:53:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28035714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IceRose34/pseuds/IceRose34
Summary: Zigfried von Schroeder had always loved Christmas decorations for their beauty, despite not being into Christmas himself.  However, this year might finally be the year for him to start believing in the Christmas Spirit again.  Mentions of Leon x OC and Zigfried x OC, but mostly family fluff and self-reflection.
Relationships: Leon von Schroeder/Original Female Character(s), Zigfried von Schroeder & Leon von Schroeder, Zigfried von Schroeder/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 2





	Lighting Up a Heart

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first full-on Duel Monsters fanfic and yes, it's a Christmas one. And yes, there are mentions of abuse in this, so YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! I DON'T OWN LILY, INGRID, ELOISA, SIGMUND, OR BORGHILD! They belong to WhitePedal25 of DeviantArt, although she came up with the designs and characters of Sigmund and Borghild. I only own the other OCs mentioned in the story. I hope that you guys like this.

Zigfried von Schroeder sighed as he finished packing up his things in his office to go home for the evening. It was almost Christmas and things had been different for various reasons. So much has changed for him ever since it came out that Lady Borghild von Schroeder wasn’t his mother. Both for the good and the bad. His father, Sigmund has been discharged from the mental hospital and came home. He then divorced Borghild and told her to never come back as not only did she do illegal stuff such as nearly killing innocent people, but almost destroyed von Schroeder Corporation’s reputation. Most of the staff were relieved to see Borghild go. They never liked her anyway.

_Good._ Zigfried thought as he locked his CEO office doors after doublechecking to make sure that he got everything he needed. He most certainly didn’t see the ginger as his mother anymore after everything she did.

That was the process that began healing the estranged relationship between the von Schroeder men. As he put on his winter coat and walked out the door, another memory hits Zigfried of three years ago when Sigmund announced that he was dating a lovely pink haired woman named Aline Goldwasser. Leon was happy for the opportunity to get a more loving stepmother. His older brother, on the other hand, had to warm up to Aline. Thankfully, she understood, having dealt with an abusive parent herself. It had been a slow process, but Zigfried and Leon had gotten to the point where both boys had forgiven their father for all of his wrongdoings to them.

That was one of the good things, the dark pink haired young man supposed. One of the bad things was that he lost a lot of power that Borghild gave him. And yet, the von Schroeder men considered it a brand new start.

Another good thing was Leon finally meeting his birth mother Eloisa Andres upon the discovery of Borghild not being his mother as well. Zigfried had to hide a bittersweet smile at that memory. He did the right thing by contacting her. It took a while for Sigmund to earn Eloisa’s forgiveness for what Borghild did to her, but the former lovers had settled on good terms and the Spanish woman was welcome to visit her son anytime. At least Leon will finally get the opportunity to know his real mother; Zigfried never will have that chance. Oh well, he has all of the pictures of Annalise von Schroeder to look at back at home and at the restaurant that Michael James restored...

And yet, despite all of this, Seto Kaiba and Christina Marie James had yet to forgive him. Well, in the case of the latter, she didn’t forgive him until Christie helped Zigfried save Leon and his new girlfriend Lily Vogel from her horrible stepmother Ingrid Gift. And that was because the other woman also kidnapped Blaine when he followed Lily to talk to her. The former wouldn’t accept his apology. Sure, his siblings did, but Zigfried couldn’t blame his business archrival. He did attack his company and try to destroy his reputation, after all. Still, thank goodness for Terra McGregor’s loyalty to him.

She’s the only one who understood what it felt like to be the underdog. And yet, Borghild never approved of her and he knew why. It made him sick that his stepmother only saw his ex as a possession, not a person.

Something that’ll haunt him for the rest of his life. Either way, the raven head saw it as a chance to have a stable relationship. Zigfried took one last look at the office before stepping in the open limo. The dark pink haired young man watched as his brightly decorated office faded out of sight as he rode home. Christmas had always been bittersweet for him. Sure, Borghild and Sigmund hosted big parties, but even in a sea of people, Zigfried felt lonely as there weren’t many children his age at those parties. And even when Leon was born, the loneliness didn’t fade away as the ginger haired woman kept him from his younger brother. As a result, Zigfried stopped caring about the holiday, but he was a sucker for the decorations.

He had always loved the decorations at Christmas. No one can really understand why. He just did, despite his personal feelings for the holiday.

An hour and a half later, Zigfried arrived home to the family castle. Their beautifully lit family castle that never disappointed all who saw it. “Welcome home, Master.” the butler greeted, the young man returning the greeting with a smile. Upon entering, Zigfried was greeted with a warm sight; the living area fully decked out with decorations and the Christmas tree. And it was the best Christmas tree that the family has had in a long time. “Welcome home, Big Brother. What do you think of the tree?” Leon asked with a smile. Lily stopped what she was doing and smiled in greeting. What happened next surprised everyone; Zigfried began to cry. However, everyone calmed down once they saw that he’s smiling. He was blessed with a chance to fix what had been broken.

And Zigfried would be damned if he took it for granted like he did as a child. “For once, I can finally say that this will be the best Christmas this year.” he answered. What he got from the young couple was a pair of warm hugs.

His heart has opened up to the Christmas Spirit once again.


End file.
